It's A Wonderful Life
by kphillips
Summary: Mulder thinks the world would be a better place without him. Is he right? COMPLETED!
1. Oh God, Not Again

It's A Wonderful Life - by K. Phillips  
  
Disclaimer info: Don't own but like to write about them  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Archive: Anywhere is fine with me, just let me know  
  
Reviews: Would love to know what you think xfstories@yahoo.com  
  
Summary: Mulder thinks that Scully and the world in general would be a better place without him. Is he right?  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Chapter One - Oh God, Not Again  
  
George Washington Hospital Tuesday 2:46am  
  
Mulder sat by the hospital bed gently holding Scully's hand. He raised it to lips and kissed it softly before placing it back on the bed and bending over to move a strand of errant hair from Scully's forehead.  
  
She looked so peaceful laying there with the only outward sign of her injury a small tube feeding her oxygen through her nose and the small monitor on her finger.  
  
Mulder knew, however, that looks could be very deceiving and that beneath the hospital gown was a large bullet wound inflicted earlier that evening when he and his partner had cornered a pair of Satan worshipers just outside of DC.  
  
The two men had been arrested, but had not gone down without a fight. They had taken several shots at Mulder and Scully - missing him and hitting her squarely in the chest.  
  
It seemed to Mulder an eternity before the ambulance came and rushed them to George Washington Hospital. It seemed even longer as they performed emergency surgery on her.  
  
The doctor had managed to remove the bullet and repair the damage as best he could. The rest was up to Scully.  
  
Mulder replayed the events of that night over and over in his head. He picked up her hand again and whispered "God Scully, why is it always you? Couldn't it for once have been me?"  
  
Mulder's whispers of desperation were interrupted by one of Scully's surgeons who had stopped by to check on her progress.  
  
"Agent Mulder, you are still here? I thought by now you would have gone home to get a least a little rest."  
  
"I can't do that Doctor. Agent Scully's mother is in California visiting her brother and won't be here until sometime tomorrow and I don't feel right leaving her alone."  
  
The doctor nodded. "I can appreciate that Agent Mulder, but for the time being I must ask that you leave. I would like to do an examination on Agent Scully and I would prefer it if you weren't in the room. Why don't you go down to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee?"  
  
Mulder didn't want to leave but recognized that he had little choice in the matter so he gave Scully's hand a parting squeeze and walked out of the room.  
  
It was going on 3am and the halls of the hospital were all but deserted. Mulder savored the quiet knowing that tomorrow he would not only have to deal with AD Skinner, but with Scully's mother.  
  
He had almost reached the cafeteria when a small sign caught his eye.  
  
"Chapel" it read in small precise letters.  
  
As a rule, Mulder had very little to do with religion but nonetheless found himself drawn into the little chapel. It was simply decorated in a style that would not offend any Christian religion.  
  
He sat down in the second pew and looked up at the plain wooden alter right before him.  
  
He didn't necessarily believe in God, but he knew Scully did. Therefore he thought it only proper to give Scully's God his opinion about what had happened to her that night.  
  
He tried to be humble but his words came out as pure anger towards a God who would let a good person such as Scully suffer so much and disgust at himself for letting it happen.  
  
"You, you are supposed to be such a great and powerful God. If you really are, why are you letting this happen to her? She has done nothing but serve you and this is how you repay her?"  
  
Mulder took a deep breath, put his head in his hands and continued speaking.  
  
"I am sorry. I shouldn't really blame you when most of what has happened to Dana is because of me. If it weren't for me, her sister would be alive and Scully would probably be happily married with a ton of kids. God, I think your mistake was letting me be born. I think Scully, and probably a lot of other people, would have much better off if you hadn't brought me into this world."  
  
"Now why would you say a thing like that?"  
  
Mulder was so startled by the voice of the man sitting next to him that he jumped to his feet reaching for his service weapon. Luckily for both of them, he had left it with hospital security.  
  
Mulder quickly appraised the man. He was a small unassuming man with gray hair and kind eyes. He was dressed in a simple gray suit and carried a small book in his hand. If Mulder wasn't mistaken, it was titled "Tom Sawyer".  
  
"I am sorry I didn't mean to startle you. I was just very curious why you would think the world would be a better place without you."  
  
Mulder stared at the man in puzzlement. "Just who are you?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself. I am Clarence."  
  
Mulder still kept a wary eye on the man. "Okay, Clarence, would you like to tell me what you are doing in this chapel at this time of night."  
  
"Well, I believe my intent was the same as yours Fox. I came here to pray for you and Agent Scully."  
  
Mulder's eyes grew huge at the mention of his and Scully's names.  
  
"Who are you and how do you know about me and Scully?"  
  
"Oh, my mistake again - I guess it wouldn't be obvious to you. Especially since your faith fails you so often."  
  
"What wouldn't be obvious?" Mulder prompted getting more annoyed by the minute.  
  
"Sorry, I should really stop rambling and get to the point."  
  
"Which is?"  
  
"Which is, that I am your guardian angel."  
  
Mulder sat down and tried very hard not to laugh. Obviously they had let someone out of the psych ward that night.  
  
"My guardian angel?" Mulder said "As in 'It's A Wonderful Life'?"  
  
"No that was just a movie. Everyone knows that angels don't get their wings when a bell rings. It takes a lot more work than that."  
  
Mulder smiled his interest piquing now. "And exactly what does one have to do to get ones wings these days?"  
  
"One has to help a lost soul find their way."  
  
Mulder laughed out loud at this "And you have been sent here to help me?"  
  
Clarence gave Mulder a quick dirty look then smiled. "Yes, I have. You are pretty much what stands between me and my wings."  
  
"Then I hope you are ready to walk for the rest of eternity"  
  
Clarence laughed. "Don't worry Fox, I have much more faith in you that you do. Now explain to me why you think the world would be a better place without you. And if you can prove your case to me, maybe I will help you achieve your goal."  
  
Mulder then briefly summarized his theories on the pain that his existence had caused others. He started with the murders of Melissa Scully and his father and then went on to list all the ailments and injuries that had been inflicted upon Scully.  
  
"So you see, Clarence, things would be better without me."  
  
"Fox your life is a gift from above. Do you really think throwing that away is what you really want?"  
  
Mulder paused a moment. "Yes, I think it is. Can you do that?"  
  
Clarence bent his head as in prayer and Mulder briefly wondered if he was consulting the Almighty for instructions.  
  
After a moment, Clarence lifted up his head and looked Mulder square in the eyes. "Done. You no longer exist."  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
I would love to know what you think of this story and any suggestions you may have 


	2. Life Without Mulder

Chapter Two - Life Without Mulder  
  
Mulder turned and looked at Clarence like he had two heads. "I know longer exist?"  
  
"That's correct."  
  
"If that is the case, why am I still here?"  
  
"Well, the Almighty doesn't throw away a life as quickly as you would. He has given you a chance to go to three places to see how the lives of others would be without you. At the end of the third visit, you will be gone."  
  
"I see" Mulder said still doubting what Clarence had said. "Okay, I will play your game. Let's see what life in the Mulder household would be like without me."  
  
"As you wish" Clarence said. "Just keep in mind that you will only be able to observe not interact with those you see."  
  
Mulder was about to respond when he felt suddenly dizzy. He closed his eyes trying to get his head to stop spinning.  
  
When he opened his eyes, he couldn't believe his eyes. He and Clarence were standing in the living room of his family home in Martha's Vineyard. It looked pretty much like he remembered but he was still a bit shocked when he looked around the room.  
  
Gone were the pictures of him and his sister that always adorned the mantle over the fireplace. In their place stood pictures of his sister alone. No picture showed Samantha older than the age of eight.  
  
Mulder was about to ask Clarence about this when he heard voices and footsteps approaching the room.  
  
He turned to leave when Clarence stopped him. "Remember Fox, they can't see you."  
  
Mulder turned then to see who was entering the room. His mouth sprung open when he saw his mother walking along side the man he detested most - the Cigarette Smoking Man.  
  
He managed to shut his mouth and listened to their conversation. Apparently his mother was trying to get out of going to some sort of company dinner party.  
  
"I don't know why you need me there anyway." she said frowning. "I always feel so uncomfortable when I am around Bill and his newest girlfriend."  
  
CSM smiled at her indulgently. "I know you do, but you are my wife and I need you there for appearances sake. Besides, I don't like leaving you longer than I have to."  
  
Mulder's mother smiled at this and said "You just want me to remember all the little bits of gossip that the woman talk about when you men lock yourself away with your brandy and cigars."  
  
CSM took her into his arms and kissed her on the forehead before turning to leave. "We leave at 6 sharp. Until then there is other business I have to attend to."  
  
Mulder felt his stomach lurch as he walked CSM leave the room. He turned to Clarence as if looking for an explanation of what he had just witnessed.  
  
"I always suspected there was something going on between my mother and that man - but this?"  
  
"Well, Fox with their only child Samantha gone, your parents had no reason to hold their marriage together. They both went their separate ways."  
  
"Samantha gone?" Mulder asked confused again. "I don't believe it."  
  
He felt dizzy again and when his vision cleared he found himself standing in the middle of a small cemetery about a mile or so from his family's house. Looking down he saw a small grave marker bearing his sister Samantha's name.  
  
He knelt down in front of the stone, and brushed his fingers across it as to caress his sister. "I don't understand. How could she be dead?"  
  
Clarence looked down at Mulder and sighed deeply. "You assumed, Fox, that your presence was the cause of your sister's disappearance. But it wasn't. Your sister's fate was to disappear and without you there to insist that she was abducted, your parents finally stopped looking for her and assumed her dead."  
  
"And my father and that man?"  
  
"They are still business associates within the Syndicate. Without you to tug on his conscious, you father stayed in the business. As far as I can tell, will work on the project until his death."  
  
Mulder sat down fully on the ground now, still looking from time to time at his sister's grave. "Well, at least he will live a longer life without me to aid in him getting himself murdered."  
  
Clarence paused before commenting. He bowed his head as in prayer. Mulder thought he looked like he was asking for guidance before speaking further.  
  
"Fox, you yourself cannot control when the Almighty decides to bring a person to join him in Heaven. You assume that just because your father wasn't murdered with you in his house, that he lived a longer life. Chances are his death will come at about the same point in his life, but hopefully he will probably be given a more peaceful death."  
  
Mulder sat a few more minutes slowly pulling up strands of grass around where he sat. He was trying to absorb everything that Clarence was telling him.  
  
Finally he looked up. "I think I am ready for stop number two. I want to see Scully."  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ end of chapter two. Comments anyone? Any thoughts about what else would be different if Mulder wasn't around? 


	3. The Doctor Doesn't Always Know Best

Chapter Three - The Doctor Doesn't Always Know Best  
  
Mulder felted the wave of dizziness cover him again and this time when his head cleared he was standing in an elevator. Next to him stood Alex Krycek and the Cigarette Smoking Man.  
  
They were in deep conversation.  
  
"Are you telling me that all of them are gone?" CSM stated reaching for a cigarette.  
  
"All but Waterston - she has yet to even begin to show symptoms."  
  
"Any chance of you getting her onboard before it is too late?"  
  
Krycek shrugged. "I don't think so. It is pretty much known that she is not happy in her marriage but apparently she takes her marriage vows very seriously. I have been trying to break down her defenses but so far nothing."  
  
"Give it another two weeks. If you haven't succeeded by then, drop it."  
  
Krycek nodded and the two men rode in silence until they reached the first floor, where CSM got out without another word to his companion.  
  
Mulder stood in the elevator relieved to hear that Scully was out of danger but wondering who Agent Waterston was. "Probably another poor agent they are using for their experimentation." he thought to himself.  
  
To Mulder's surprise, Krycek pushed the button for the basement. Mulder followed him out of the elevator and into his former office wondering if in his current state of limbo he would be able to access the computers to locate Scully.  
  
Krycek paused to open the door to his office and Mulder glanced up to read the two names plastered on it.  
  
"A. Krycek and D. Waterston"  
  
"D. Waterston" Mulder thought to himself. He knew that name sounded familiar but he just couldn't place where he had heard it before.  
  
Mulder followed Krycek into his office and noticed at once how different it looked. First of all, it had two desks not one. Second was although, judging by the files littering both desks, this office was still the home of the X-files, there were no bizarre posters hanging on the wall or books of the occult and alien abduction lining the shelves of the bookcase.  
  
"BORING" Mulder thought looking around the room. He was about to snoop a bit more when he heard the door open again and in walked Krycek's partner. Dana Waterston.  
  
"Hi Dana" Krycek said smiling at his partner "How was lunch?"  
  
"A bit dull, Daniel got stuck at the hospital and wasn't able to make it." Scully tried to smile but didn't succeed too well. She quickly took a seat at her desk and tried to look busy.  
  
"Scully married?" Mulder thought to himself a bit shocked. He wasn't sure why, be he felt rather betrayed. That betrayal was nothing compared to the red hot anger he felt seconds later.  
  
Krycek walked over to where Scully was doing a pretty poor job of looking at a file. He leaned over her, removed the file from her hand and spun around her chair so he was looming over her.  
  
"Dana" he said softly pushing a bit of her hair behind her ear. "Would you like to talk about it?"  
  
She looked up at him her eyes trying to hold back tears and shook her head no.  
  
"Dana" Krycek said almost whispering. "Are you sure this is what you want? Are you sure you don't want to be with someone who really cares about you?"  
  
Mulder looked on in pure horror as it seems abundantly obvious to him that Krycek was about to kiss Scully.  
  
Apparently she saw it coming too and quickly got out of her seat and walked over to the filing cabinets.  
  
"Come on Dana" Krycek said following her "Why do you keep fighting what is going on between us. You know we care for each other. Why aren't you willing to take it to the next level?"  
  
Scully whirled around to face him looking quite angry. "Because I am married Alex. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"  
  
"Go get him Scully" Mulder said cheering on his partner. He knew she would never think about breaking her wedding vows.  
  
Scully was about to verbally chastise Krycek when she thought she felt something on her face. One look at the horrified look on Krycek's face and she knew something was wrong.  
  
She touched her face just under her nose briefly and then drew away her hand. Looking down she noticed a small amount of blood on her fingers.  
  
Mulder, suddenly remembering the conversation in the elevator, gasped and quickly left the room. He couldn't watch any more.  
  
Clarence was waiting for him outside in the hall.  
  
"I don't understand Clarence. How could she have the cancer? I am not here!"  
  
"Fox, haven't you figured it out yet that you are not the only person who controls the fate of Dana, her sister, your parents or any of the other people with whom you have come into contact. Most of what has been predestined for them has nothing to do with whether or not you are here."  
  
"You mean Scully was supposed to get the implant and the cancer?" Mulder anger rising "Then you're right, I don't understand."  
  
Clarence began walking down the hall and Mulder quickly caught up with him. "You think that just because you are not with the X-files that Scully would be spared all the anguish that her association with them has caused her?"  
  
Mulder nodded.  
  
"You cannot count on that Fox for Dana was destined to be working for the FBI with or without you being here. However, your not being here has obviously made some impact."  
  
Mulder frowned at this comment and Clarence turned and smiled patiently. "Her marriage for example or even the fact that she is blissfully unaware of the Syndicate and all their nasty business."  
  
"How could that be?"  
  
"You are not there to tell her about it. Do you think that Alex Krycek is going to ramble on about aliens and government conspiracies to her?"  
  
"No, I don't suppose he would."  
  
"You wanted to spare her some physical pain and perhaps you have. Krycek is not one to poke his nose into things that will not aid his personal agenda. I doubt she and Krycek will spend as much time as you did hunting down monsters and the like."  
  
"Can we stop talking about Alex Krycek and focus on her cancer please? What is going to happen to her?"  
  
"Why don't we take a peek and see?" Clarence said smiling again.  
  
At just that moment, Mulder realized he was standing in a different corridor. Looking around he recognized it as being the ward on which Scully spent her last few days when she was fighting her cancer.  
  
Outside of her room stood an older distinguished looking man talking with her doctor. Mulder recognized the doctor but had no idea who the other man was.  
  
"Dr. Waterston, I don't know what else to tell you. We have tried every possible treatment at our disposal and nothing has helped."  
  
The older man nodded and paused before replying. "How much longer do you think?"  
  
"I would say days maybe, if you are lucky, a week or so."  
  
Waterston nodded again. "Thank you Doctor."  
  
The younger doctor turned to walk away when Waterston called out to him "One more thing Doctor"  
  
When the doctor had turned back he continued "You haven't told her have you?"  
  
"No, I haven't. At your request we have yet to tell your wife that her condition is fatal."  
  
Waterston nodded and opened the door to his wife's room.  
  
"Bastard" Mulder said looking for Clarence who seemed to have disappeared yet again. "Scully would hate not knowing the truth. Doesn't he know her at all?"  
  
He followed Waterston into Scully's room and stopped short when he laid eyes on her. She was deathly pale with huge dark circles under her eyes. She looked up when her husband entered the room and did her best to smile at him.  
  
"Daniel, you look like you have seen a ghost. Surely my time isn't that close at hand yet?"  
  
"Nonsense darling" he replied walking over to her and kissing her on the forehead. "Nothing could be farther from the truth."  
  
Scully looked at him for a second trying to gauge whether or not he was telling the truth before continuing. "So I take you think I am well enough to leave town and get to your seminar after all. I am sure everyone will be thrilled that you can make it."  
  
Mulder couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could this man leave her at such a time?  
  
"Are you sure you don't mind?"  
  
"No, not at all" Mulder could tell that Scully was lying but Waterston obviously didn't notice.  
  
An awkward silence filled the room which Scully finally broke.  
  
"Daniel" she said a bit meekly. "I was thinking about calling some holistic healers that were friends of Melissa's. I thought they may have a suggestion or two for me."  
  
Mulder smiled at Scully's idea but Waterston did not. "Dana, don't be ridiculous - those people are nothing but freaks who are out to steal our money."  
  
"But Daniel, their techniques have been proven over the centuries in many Eastern cultures"  
  
"You tell him Scully" Mulder said.  
  
"Dana, I know this is difficult for you but I really must insist."  
  
Scully sighed realizing that she was wasting her energy on a fight she wouldn't win.  
  
"You look tired darling. I am going to go now and let you get some rest."  
  
"But you just got here" Scully whined "yours is the first friendly face I have seen all day."  
  
"Now Dana, you need your rest. I am your doctor so you have to listen." He tried to sound like he was joking, but couldn't quite pull it off. "I will be leaving first thing tomorrow morning and should be back before the weekend. I will call you when I get there."  
  
Dana just nodded and accepted the kiss he put on her cheek. Waterston quietly left the room not noticing the single large tear slowly making its way down Scully's cheek.  
  
Mulder took the chance and walked over to the bed where she lay and took a good long look at her. He had seen her like this once before when she was lying on the thin line between life and death. He had pulled her back from death then and wondered to himself who would pull her back this time.  
  
He gently laid his hand on hers and she flinched suddenly as if somehow aware of his presence. "Hang in there Scully - it will be alright."  
  
He knew she couldn't hear him and probably wouldn't have believed him if she could but he felt he had to say it if only to make himself feel better.  
  
He stayed in the room keeping guard over her until she fell asleep.  
  
Only then did he go again back into the corridor where Clarence was patiently waiting for him.  
  
"Call you tell me if she lives or dies?" Mulder said looking Clarence straight in the eye.  
  
"No, I am afraid that I am not allowed to do that. I can tell you Fox, that no one in Scully's life at the present time would even consider the course of treatment you provided her."  
  
"Are you trying to tell me that she will just die without anyone doing anything? What about her husband? Melissa? Krycek?"  
  
Clarence pointed to a small bench located down the corridor from where they stood. "Have a seat Fox"  
  
He sat down next to Mulder and continued. "Melissa is dead. She was shot."  
  
Mulder looked shocked. "By Krycek?"  
  
"No she walked into an attempted robbery. The man attempting to rob the convenience store meant to shoot the owner but shot her instead."  
  
"Same type of death, different circumstances" Mulder muttered to himself.  
  
"Exactly. Her mother is in California where she lives down the street from her brother. I guess seeing Dana settled down gave her the reason she needed to leave the East Coast and go West."  
  
Mulder leaned forward on the bench putting in hands between his legs and looked at the floor. "I suppose Krycek's devotion to Scully doesn't go far enough for him to look for the cure to his cancer."  
  
"Oh, he knows how he could stop it but doing so isn't in the best interest of himself or the Syndicate. Remember Fox, you aren't around so they can't use Scully as a pawn against you. This time that fact works to her disadvantage."  
  
"And her husband?" Mulder asked quietly.  
  
"It seems he is rather tied up with his work."  
  
Mulder just sat for a while lost in thought. Finally he raised his head and looked at Clarence. "I know where I want to go now."  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
So what do you think? Any 


	4. He's Gone

Chapter Four - He's Gone  
  
George Washington Hospital Tuesday 4:40am  
  
The ICU nurse Sheryl was slowly doing her rounds when she thought she heard a noise coming from the room of the FBI agent who had been admitted earlier than evening.  
  
She jogged down the hall and into Scully's room surprised to find that her good looking partner was no longer there. Apparently, even in her drugged state Agent Scully was missing his presence too.  
  
Scully's head was thrashing side to side and she was muttering something under her breath.  
  
Sheryl leaned over to try to hear what Scully was saying.  
  
"He's gone. He's gone."  
  
Sheryl started stroking her head softly whispering to her. Scully noticed her there and her eyes flew open and she looked at the nurse with her eyes filled with fever and fear.  
  
"He is trying to leave me. Don't let me him go. I can't do this without him."  
  
Sheryl did her best to comfort Scully and paged an orderly to join her in Scully's room. The orderly arrived shortly only to be chastised by the nurse.  
  
"Bobby, I sent you to look for her partner ages ago. Where is he?"  
  
"I searched every where for him but couldn't find him anywhere. I assumed he went home."  
  
Scully moaned "He's gone" again.  
  
"There is no way that he would have left her. He insisted on staying here tonight."  
  
Sheryl glanced over at the monitors lining one wall of Scully's room. "Her breathing is up and her blood pressure is dropping." She paused and laid a hand against Scully's cheek. "She is also getting warmer by the minute. I suspect a secondary infection. I will call her doctor and you go look for Agent Mulder again. Things are not looking so good right now and I would hate for her to die alone."  
  
Mulder wasn't sure whether it was the shaking of his body or the sound of his name being yelled in his ear that woke him from his slumber. His brain felt like it was filled with cotton candy as he looked up at the young man dressed in blue scrubs who was so frantically trying to get his attention.  
  
"Agent Mulder - you must come right now. There may not be much time."  
  
Without thinking Mulder eased his way out of the pew and followed the orderly through the corridors of the hospital.  
  
Images were flashing through his mind and he couldn't remember exactly why he was there. All he could remember was that Scully was in trouble and he had to get to her fast.  
  
He ran into her room and looked down at a sweat-drenched Scully who was asking for him in her sleep. He sat immediately on the bed and took one of her hands in his and rose it to his lips. He kissed it lightly and at his touch Scully seemed to settle down immediately.  
  
Only then did Mulder look up to see Scully's doctor hovering over them. "What's wrong?" He said trying not to show the panic he was feeling on his face.  
  
"I am not really sure" the doctor said frowning slightly. "It really was the strangest thing. I checked Agent Scully over thoroughly right after you left and she appeared to be doing much better. About an hour and a half later she started taking a turn for the worse. Her vitals started dropping she got a fever and started calling out."  
  
"Really?" The fog in Mulder's brain had receded enough for him to be intrigued. "What was she saying?"  
  
"She kept saying over and over again 'He's gone' and 'Don't let him leave me'" Sheryl answered.  
  
"But" the doctor interrupted "about ten to fifteen minutes ago everything seemed to go back to normal."  
  
"So is she going to be okay?" Mulder asked a bit confused.  
  
"I think so, but do us a favor Agent Mulder, stick close by. She definitely seems to do better when you are around."  
  
The first thing Scully saw when she opened her eyes was Mulder sitting in a chair next to her bed. He was leaning over her bed and had placed his head on his folded arms and had fallen asleep.  
  
She looked at him for a minute smiling at how peaceful he looked. She reached out to gently stroke his hair only to awaken him.  
  
"Hey"  
  
"Hey yourself" Mulder replied rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Like I've been shot" Scully joked "but I have felt worse."  
  
Mulder took her hand and gave it a gently squeeze. "I am glad you are awake. You seemed to be having some pretty horrible nightmares last night. Do you remember any of them?"  
  
Scully paused a moment as if trying to recall. "All I really remember is that I had this terrible feeling that you were going to go away and if you left that I would just disappear."  
  
Mulder had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach as he began to remember his own experiences from the night before.  
  
"Pretty silly dream, huh?" Scully continued "since you and I both know that try as I might, I can never get you to leave my bedside. Mulder, are you alright?"  
  
Mulder had turned a bit pale. "I don't know Scully, but I think you and I may have experienced an X-file last night."  
  
Scully raised an eyebrow at him and Mulder slowly told her his story about his meeting Clarence and how Clarence had given him the chance to see what life would have been like without him.  
  
Scully said little during the story only interrupting Mulder to ask for a drink of water and to have her blood pressure checked by Sheryl.  
  
"So you are trying to tell me,Mulder, that you had a bit of a temper tantrum in the chapel and that because of it God sent an angel to you to show you why you were wrong?"  
  
"Pretty much."  
  
"That makes no sense Mulder. First of all, you don't even believe in God. Second of all, it is obvious that your guilt about my latest injury was manifesting itself in a dream. And most importantly, I know that Alex Krycek would never in a million years try to kiss me."  
  
Mulder laughed. "I don't know Scully, he did seem to have the hots for you when he and I were partners."  
  
"Really, I thought you were the one he was after." Scully retorted smiling. She then got serious and picked up one of Mulder's hands. "Mulder before you beat yourself up any more over me remember this. I am happy with my life and my work. I wouldn't trade it or you for anything or anyone. Okay?"  
  
"Okay" Mulder muttered feeling a bit embarrassed. He was about to start his own declaration when there was a soft knock on the door.  
  
Scully and Mulder looked up to see Maggie Scully standing in the doorway.  
  
Mulder rose to greet her and Maggie quickly embraced him. "I knew Dana would be okay if you were here to watch over her. From what the doctor told me, if not for your quick action in the field, Dana probably wouldn't be here right now."  
  
Mulder just shrugged off Maggie's comments and turned back to Scully. "Now that your mother is here, I think I will do the world a favor and go home and take a nice long hot shower."  
  
He walked over to Scully and gave her a kiss on her forehead - an action that did not go unnoticed by Maggie.  
  
"I will come back later tonight. Is there anything can bring you?"  
  
Scully shook her head. "Just you will be fine"  
  
Mulder finished up his goodbyes and was almost out of the room when Maggie called him back in.  
  
"Fox, I'm sorry, I forgot to give this to you." She handed Mulder a small package wrapped in brown paper. "A man in the hallway asked me to bring it to you."  
  
"Thanks" Mulder said taking the package and tucking it under his arm. When he got out into the hall he looked at the package. On it was written 'Fox, Thanks for the wings. Clarence."  
  
Mulder carefully opened the package to find a worn copy of "Tom Sawyer".  
  
End of story. Any comments? 


End file.
